British troops deployed to Israel to monitor 'fragile' Gaza ceasefire

The exact number of British troops deployed has not yet been disclosed, however the group will be joined by a two-star deputy commander.

The US has pledged up to 200 troops to join the international task force.

Soldiers from Turkey, Egypt, Qatar and the UAE are also believed to be joining the task force as it attempts to assist with getting aid into the Gaza Strip and maintain compliance with the ceasefire.

The US-led international task force is not believed to be the same as the international stabilisation force set out in US President Donald Trump's 20-point peace plan.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said that "the UK continues to work with international partners to support the Gaza ceasefire to see where the UK can best contribute to the peace process".

The deployment of British troops comes just days after Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper affirmed that there were "no plans" to send UK soldiers to the region as part of Mr Trump's proposed multi-national force.

The ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas appeared to be hanging by a thread on Sunday after two IDF soldiers were killed behind the withdrawal line, but the terror group denied being behind the killings.

In response, Israel carried out a series of strikes against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.

However, on Tuesday, US Vice President JD Vance declared that “this peace is going to last", adding that the deal was “in a good place”.

Mr Vance also said that Hamas would be "obliterated" unless it disarms and warned the terror group to “behave itself”.

On Tuesday, Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform: "Numerous of our now great allies in the Middle East, and areas surrounding the Middle East, have explicitly and strongly, with great enthusiasm, informed me that they would welcome the opportunity, at my request, to go into Gaza with a heavy force and 'straighten out Hamas' if Hamas continues to act badly, in violation of their agreement with us.

"There is still hope that Hamas will do what is right. If they do not, an end to Hamas will be fast, furious, & brutal!

"I would like to thank all of those countries that called to help."

During his first visit to Israel since being elected, Mr Vance urged Benjamin Netanyahu to have "a little bit of patience" surrounding the return of deceased corpses of the hostages.

Despite two more corpses being identified on Tuesday night, the bodies of 15 hostages are yet to be accounted for.

Speaking on the timeframe of Hamas' disarmament, Mr Vance said: “I don’t think it’s actually advisable for us to say that this has to be done in a week, because a lot of this work is very hard.

"It’s never been done before and, in order for us to give it a chance to succeed, we’ve got to be a little bit flexible.”

He added that some of the Gulf Arab nations, alongside Israel, were starting to get "impatient" with Hamas.

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